Legions of Elden Ring fans have been scouring The Lands Between in recent weeks ever since director Hidetaka Miyazaki let slip that something (secret, reference, or otherwise) remained to be unearthed. A newly discovered link between a shield in the base game and enemies in the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion has been found and may indeed be that missing link.
Miyazaki sparked the game-wide scouring when he told IGN: "For me personally, there is a small element that I feel has not yet been discovered. So, whether that's up to user interpretation or up to further investigation and playing, that's something I'm looking forward to. I think it's a question of when and not if, but there may be something small still missing."
That "something small" might just be the Candletree Wooden Shield, the Candletree itself potentially the sigil of a faction exiled to The Land of Shadow. Shared by Redditor Cudakid210 (thanks, Eurogamer), the second part of the shield's description is what interests us, which reads: "A tall, medium-sized wooden shield. Light for its size and easy to handle. Thought to represent a surreptitious prophecy of cardinal sin, the lit candle-tree design was forbidden."
This sigil appears in the snippets of Shadow of the Erdtree from its reveal trailer, specifically borne by the red-haired Messmer, in related imagery, and by enemies. Without spoiling Elden Ring, the cardinal sin is a concept veterans will be familiar with, and the prospect of facing a faction exiled for making such a decision is intriguing.